


Asthma Attack

by allikatt



Series: Proof That Peter Has Zero Self-Preservation Instincts [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Asthma attack, Avenger family, Domestic Avengers, Gen, Good Friend Ned Leeds, Hurt/Comfort, Ned Leeds fanboys, Not Avengers: Endgame Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Not Spider-Man: Homecoming Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-28 19:22:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19400734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allikatt/pseuds/allikatt
Summary: I’ve witnessed Peter’s stubbornness  firsthand in this type of weather when we were younger.”“Oh really?” Tony was intrigued.“Ned.” Peter hissed, knowing exactly what Ned was referring to. He shook his head when Ned looked at him. “Mr. Stark, it’s a long story. I don’t want to bore you. We should put on a movie.”“No, Peter, I want to hear what Ned has to say.”Peter knew this would not end well and started curling himself into his blankets in his useless attempt to become one with the couch. He was aware that Tony would badger them until he knew the story. Mumbling into the cushion, he exhaled. “Fine, but remember that this was in the past and I obviously survived.”





	Asthma Attack

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, everyone!
> 
> This is the fourth part in a series of one-shots about how Peter Parer's self-preservation skills are mostly lacking when it comes to injuries. All of these prompts are based off of injuries I got growing up. The story behind this fic will be in the end notes if you want to read it! Side note: I studied maps of Central Park and Manhattan subway lines for far too long to make sure the story was accurate.
> 
> Also, I have a small reference to Part One of this series towards the end. You don't have to read the first part to find it funny, but it provides context for the joke. And those of you who have read every part, thank you so much and I hope that you catch the reference!

It was a sweltering, humid day. The kind where sweat beings to pool on one’s back as soon as they step outside. Despite this, Peter, Ned, and MJ were at the outdoor theater in Central Park, watching a Shakespeare at the Park performance. MJ insisted that they go despite the heat because it was the only one they were able to see together. Peter was grateful that it was one of the comedies; he was not in the mood for a tragedy and found the historical ones long and boring. 

He went to take another sip from his water bottle, but found it empty. Peter nudged Ned, who nudged MJ. “I’m all out of water. I’m going to the water fountain; do either of you need a refill?”

“I’m good Peter,” Ned replied.

“This is your fourth refill, Parker. Are you sure you’re okay?” 

“Yeah, I don’t need May killing me over being dehydrated and getting heat stroke.”

MJ shrugged and handed over her water bottle anyways. Grabbing his and her bottles, Peter left the relative cool from under the shade to brave the full sun. He returned to his seat, wordlessly handing MJ her water bottle. She signed ‘thank you’ back at him before allowing the play to capture her attention once again. Peter placed his water bottle on the back of his neck in a futile effort to cool off. He was thankful that the play is in the final act; he wanted to be in air conditioning again.

20 minutes later, the play was over. The three of them left the theater and made their way north across the Great Lawn towards the West 86th/Central Park exit. As they amble along, MJ lamented about what she liked and disliked about the production. Ned and Peter chimed in when they can.

“Honestly, I kind of wish that Don John was even more obnoxious; that’s all he really has going for him. Also, why would you bring your bastard half-brother who just lost a war against you on vacation?” MJ mused.

“Maybe he thought that he changed, like how Luke Skywalker convinces his father to come back to the Jedi right before he dies.”

“Great point, Ned, but I don’t believe that Shakespeare used Star Wars as a reference.”

Peter chimed in. “Their relationship reminds me a bit of Thor and Loki’s. Despite all of the terrible things that Loki has done to him over the years, Thor still sees the best in him. I think that the same concept applies with how Don Pedro feels about Don John.”

MJ pondered for a minute. “There are correlations between the two relationships. But I still wouldn’t trust someone who tried to kill me, whether it be directly or indirectly. I especially wouldn’t trust them if they just fought a war against me.”

“This is why you’re a Slytherin and not a Hufflepuff,” Ned remarked.

MJ glared at Ned. “For being such a huge nerd, you forgot that both Hufflepuffs and Slytherins value loyalty. Stop trashing my House.” Switching tones, she continues. “Moving on, can we all agree that Don John is the least effective villain ever. He is the opposite of Iago. His motive is pettiness, and he just wants to stir up trouble.”

“Yeah, but despite his absolutely horrible manipulation skills, Claudio still fell for it.”

“Are you implying that Claudio is stupider than Don John?” MJ mock gasped. “That is Dogberry erasure, and I will not stand for it.”

“Ned has a point, MJ. Claudio is dumb for listening to Don John’s flimsy rumor without talking to anyone else. If he just would’ve talked to Benedick, then he wouldn’t have humiliated Hero at their wedding and acted like a complete jerk. Dogberry may be a bit ditzy, but he tries his best.”

Ned added, “Plus, Claudio believes that Hero has another cousin that he never met before, and he’s all ‘let me marry her.’ And this is less than a week after his first failed wedding and his beloved’s ‘death.’”

“I still think that Dogberry has the lowest IQ out of the bunch. Claudio is just easily persuaded.”

They walked out of the tunnel under 86th Street, and were about to follow the path that will take them to the entrance on Central Park West when Peter stopped them. “Look at all those chickens.” He pointed towards the large reservoir, filled with Canada geese.

Ned and MJ burst out in laughter as they continued towards the exit. “This is why I keep you nerds around. You guys love memes and Vines almost as much as me.”

“MJ, are you sure you don’t want to join Ned and me for dinner at the Tower? You know you’re welcomed there.”

“I know I’m welcomed, doofus. I’ve been there with you before. Besides, my dad confirmed that he was free to have dinner with me, so I’m meeting him at our favorite hole-in-the-wall in Lower Manhattan.”

“You know that Happy could drive you.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I know how to navigate the subway.” They reached the entrance to the park. “I’ll see you losers later.” MJ waved at them before crossing the street and heading to the subway station.

“I just got a text from Happy; he’s parked on West 87th.”

“Let’s go! I miss air conditioning.”

A few minutes later, they made it to the car. Peter slid into the back, followed by Ned. “Hello, Happy! We had a lot of fun at Shakespeare in the Park. Thank you for picking us up.”

“Boss will kill me if I let you suffer from heat exhaustion. Please tell me you’ve been drinking water, for my sake.”

“We have! Peter asked us every act if we needed more water and got it for us.”

“Where’s your other friend, the scary one?” Happy merged into traffic.

“MJ? She’s having dinner with her dad somewhere. I offered her a ride, but she insisted on taking the subway.”

“That was nice of you.” Happy rolled up the partition between him and the boys. It stayed up until Happy parked in the designated spot in the Tower garage. “We’re here. Now get out.”

Peter and Ned rode the elevator up to the common area, as Peter figured that’s where most of the team would be. When the doors opened, however, there was no one around, save Steve in the kitchen. Peter motioned for Ned to be quiet and follow him into the kitchen. Steve had his back turned away from the elevator, eyeing something on the stove. As they got closer, jazz music filtered in. 

Peter spoke first. “Well if it isn’t the man with the big giant shield.”

Steve flinched and turned towards the sound. “I don’t know if that is better than Mr. Steve.”

Together, Peter and Ned repeated, “ThE mAn WitH tHe bIg GiaNt sHieLd.” They burst out laughing at Steve’s nonplussed expression.

Ned realized what Peter and him just did, and started apologizing profusely. “I am so sorry, Mr. Captain America sir. Once Peter started it, I couldn’t just not finish it with him. Please forgive me!”

Steve was still perplexed. “I forgive you? I don’t know what exactly happened, but I didn’t think you said anything rude.”  
“Thank you so much for forgiving me, Mr. Captain America sir. Is there anything we can do to make it up to you? Ow!” Peter elbowed Ned; he wanted to go to his room and hang out for a bit.

“Really, Ned, you didn’t offend me at all. If you want, you can help with dinner.”

Before Peter could stop him, Ned eagerly said, “Oh my goodness! Mr. Captain America asked me to help cook dinner for the Avengers. Of course we will help you!” Ned ignored Peter’s groan.

“Great! We’re having taco night tonight. I’m cooking the refried beans and meat on the stovetop, and you guys can make guacamole and get all of the fixings ready.”

Peter piped up. “You sure you don’t need any help cooking?”

“No thanks, son. I haven’t forgotten the time you attempted to make mac and cheese. I’ll never understand how you managed to catch the water on fire.” Steve shook his head and turned back to the stove.

Ned opened the fridge and started pulling vegetables out. “Um… Mr. Captain America sir, if you don’t mind me asking, where is everyone?” Peter wondered the same thing. Usually they all hung out before dinner.

“Natasha insisted that everyone get extra training in after the last mission. I’m not down there because it’s my turn to cook dinner, Wanda isn’t allowed to train until her stitches come out, and Bruce is working on something time-sensitive in his lab.”

“Oh, okay.” Ned went back to digging through the fridge and Steve turned back to the stove. Peter went to the cabinet where the serving bowls were kept. Kneeling down to get a set, he whispered to FRIDAY. “Can you send Wanda the video of when Ned and I entered the kitchen and ask if she wants to help make guacamole?”

Peter placed the bowls near the pile of taco and guac fixings that Ned sorted. “We should probably do the guac first, then we can sort out the fixings and cut the vegetables up.” Ned agreed. 

As they washed their hands in the sink, Wanda entered the kitchen. “Hi, Wanda, it’s nice to see you again! Have you met my friend Ned?”

“I don’t think I have. Hello, Ned. I’m--”

“Ms. Scarlet Witch, ma’am.”

“Ned, you are adding at least another decade to my life when you address me like that. I’m only a few years older than you. Please, call me Wanda.”

Peter added, “She’s the only one, other than Vision, that doesn’t have a title in their name when I address them.”

“Okay. Hi, Wanda,” Ned sounded unsure. “It’s nice to meet you.” 

Steve turned around from the sizzling stove. “Hello, Wanda! Are you helping with taco night?”

“Yes, I’m going to help the boys and set the table.”

“Great! Thanks for the help.”

Wanda washed her hands and listened to the two teens.

“Dude,” hissed Ned. “Did you plan on getting Scarlet Witch to help with dinner?”

“Yeah. Ned, Mr. Steve put us in charge of making guacamole, and prepping everything else. Think of all the references we can say. Wanda loves Vines, and Mr. Steve doesn’t really get them, so it’s perfect.”

“Man, you are so right! Hi, Wanda!” She joined them at their end of the island. “We are planning on making the guacamole first, if that’s good with you.”

“That’s fine with me. Do either of you know how to make guacamole?”

Peter and Ned’s silence gave Wanda her answer. “Well, you’ll learn tonight.”

Wanda handed Peter an avocado. “It’s an avocado. Thanks.” 

Ned barked out a laugh. “I didn’t think that you would start so soon.”

“There’s more where that came from.” 

Wanda taught them how to cut an avocado and safely remove the pit. (‘You don’t want to get injured because you ignored safety for speed.’ ‘Wanda, you’re sounding like May’). After that, they helped Wanda make her Top Secret Guac. It was easier to make than Peter thought it would be.

They worked in murmurs, each focused on their own task, until Steve made an announcement: “FRIDAY, can you please tell everyone that dinner will be ready in 15 minutes. And if Clint or Tony complains, tell them that 15 minutes is plenty of time to take a shower.” He looked at the others in the kitchen. “Peter, I need you to finish the second bowl of guacamole. Wanda, chop up the onions and lettuce. And Ned, can you please get everything into bowls?”

“Of course, Mr. Captain America sir.” Ned reached across the counter for a package of cheese, accidentally knocking a bag of tortilla chips onto the ground. Without missing a beat, he began, “Hurricane Katrina--”

“More like Hurricane Tortilla” Wanda and Peter joined in. They all burst out laughing at the end.

Steve pointed a spatula at all of them. “You guys do realize that you sound like a cult, right?”

“We’re not in a cult, but go off I guess.” Peter responded, drawing giggles from his co-conspirators. Steve shook his head, giving up on trying to understand, and returned to cutting up the chicken.

With their kitchen tasks complete, the trio tackled the dining room. Wanda started setting the table as Peter and Ned brought all the bowls over. The Avengers began to trickle in one by one. Natasha was first, followed by Rhodey and Bruce, who were talking in low tones. 

When they returned from the kitchen, Peter was surprised to see Pepper sitting next to Tony’s chair. “Ms. Potts, I didn’t know you were joining us for dinner!”

“I have just enough time to have a sit down meal with everyone before I leave for a business trip.”

“I’m happy you could join us. Have you met my friend Ned?”

“I don’t believe so. Hello, Ned. I’m Pepper Potts, CEO of SI.” She stuck out her hand.

Ned returned the handshake. “It’s nice to meet you too, Ms. Potts, ma’am.” His hand remained frozen in midair even after Pepper removed hers.

“Make sure you try the guac; Wanda, Ned and I made it.” Peter steered Ned back to the kitchen. “Hey, you good?”

“Yeah. I can’t believe that I met Ms. Potts before MJ did! Will she hate me if I tell her?”

“No. It is a spur-of-the-moment thing on Ms. Potts’s part. If anything, MJ will hound me even more to let her have a one-on-one interview with her. Come on, let’s bring in the guacamole.”

Everyone was seated when they come back into the dining room. Peter cleared his throat. “If I can have your attention, please. I have the star of dinner, which Wanda, Ned, and I made. May I present to you, Fre Sha Voc A Do!” Peter and Ned placed a bowl at each end of the table with a flourish. 

Tony and Steve appeared to be the only ones in the dark. Clint cackled with Wanda. Bruce and Rhodey snorted. Natasha and Bucky chuckled. Even Pepper was hiding a laugh and a smile behind her hand. Peter and Ned took their seats in between Wanda and Clint.

“What does that even mean?” Steve questioned.

“For once, I’m with you, Capsicle.” Tony glimpsed at Pepper. “Wait, you understand what Peter just said?”

“Yes, Tony. Fre. Sha. Voc. A. Do. Fresh Avocado.”

“That’s the name of Wanda’s recipe, Mr. Stark,” Peter helpfully replied, although he knew it would not clear anything up.

“Wait a minute.” Steve held up his hand for good measure. “Is that another one of your cult quotes?”

Tony whipped his head towards Peter. “What cult? When did you join a cult? Why did you join a cult?”

Shockingly, Ned spook up. “We did not join a cult, Mr. Stark sir. Mr. Captain America sir just doesn’t understand our humor. Which means he doesn’t get memes or Vines.”

“Seriously, Mr. Steve, I thought that Mr. Bucky was going to educate you.”

Bucky chimed in, “I tried. He couldn’t get through one compilation before turning it off and declaring that he would never understand the humor of today’s youth.”

“You know what this means?” Wanda began. “Steve is finally acting his age!”

The table was in an uproar; Steve regained order. “Okay, everyone. I get it. I’m an old man. Now, can we please have dinner before it gets cold and Pepper misses her flight?” Everyone settled down after his statement, and dinner was kept to its usual levels of chaos. 

When the meal was over, everyone said goodbye to Pepper as she left for her flight. Steve assigned clean up duty to Clint and Bruce since they did not cook, before leaving with Bucky to watch more Vine compilations. Rhodey and Wanda both had phone calls to make, and excused themselves. Natasha claimed that she needed to finish sharpening her knife collection, and headed towards her room. That left Tony, Peter, and Ned.

“Hey Kid, Ted, do you guys want to watch a movie?”

“Who gets to pick?” Peter did not want to watch another late-80s or early-90s rom com, which were Tony’s favorites when Pepper was out of town.

“Ed, of course. He’s the guest.”

“That sounds like fun. Ned?” Ned nodded, speechless. “Sure.”

“Great, meet me in the living room on my floor in 10 minutes.” With that, Tony left to check on something in his lab.

They stood from the table with their plates and cups, placing them on the counter before heading down the hall. As soon as they were out of sight, Ned practically shouted “Dude. I can’t believe that Mr. Stark invited me to movie night. I thought I would be leaving after dinner.” 

“Yeah, I wasn’t expecting it either.” Climbing up the staircase, the gears in Peter’s brain were whirring. He knew that Mr. Stark asked for a reason. What exactly, he was not sure. “Hey, do you want to grab some blankets and pillows from my room?”

By the time they returned to the living room, Mr. Stark sat on one of the sofas. “I was wondering where you two went. Did you grab every pillow and blanket you could find?”

“Pretty much. We were thinking of building a pillow fort, but on the way back, we realized that our plans were too grandiose to complete tonight. We would need more time and another person to help make our vision possible.”

“I’m impressed. That was a pretty smooth way to ask if your friends can come over again. Yes, you can build your pillow fort with your friends another day.”

“Thanks, Mr. Stark!” They both dropped their piles on the floor before picking what they wanted. Peter brought three blankets and a pillow to the same couch as Tony, throwing one of them at his mentor. Ned took a blanket and a pillow to the loveseat to the right of the couch Tony and Peter sat on. 

“Before we start whatever movie Jed wants to watch, tell me about your day.”

“Ned and I joined MJ for a performance of Much Ado About Nothing in Central Park this afternoon. I’m pretty sure MJ enjoyed it the most out of the three of us.”

“Maybe you would’ve liked it more if you weren’t refilling everyone’s water bottles every act. You missed some good parts.”

“Ned, I knew enough to engage in a conversation with you two after the show. I just don’t care for Shakespeare.” Peter whirled around and pointed at Ned. “Don’t you dare tell MJ I said that!”

“Good to know that she’s still as intimidating as ever,” Tony muttered. “Underoos, how thoughtful of you to make sure that everyone stayed hydrated and didn’t develop heat stroke.”

“Oh my goodness, Mr. Stark.” Peter sighed dramatically as he realized why Tony invited Ned to watch a movie with them. “Why do all the adults in my life believe I don’t know how to take care of myself when it’s hot out? First, May, then Happy, now you. Do you guys have a group chat I don’t know about?” 

“No, it’s because we all care about you. Also, we all know that you don’t have the best track record when it comes to taking care of yourself when you’re not at 100%.”

“I agree completely, Mr. Stark sir, with your second point. I’ve witnessed Peter’s stubbornness firsthand in this type of weather when we were younger.”

“Oh really?” Tony was intrigued.

“Ned.” Peter hissed, knowing exactly what Ned was referring to. He shook his head when Ned looked at him.

“Please, Ned, enlighten me.”

“Oh my,” Ned threw off his blanket in his excitement. “Mr. Stark does know my name!”

Peter panically spook over Ned. “Mr. Stark, it’s a long story. I don’t want to bore you. We should put on a movie.”

“No, Peter, I want to hear what Ned has to say.”

Peter knew this would not end well and started curling himself into his blankets in his useless attempt to become one with the couch. He was aware that Tony would badger them until he knew the story. Mumbling into the cushion, he exhaled. “Fine, but remember that this was in the past and I obviously survived.”

Figuring that was all the approval he would receive from Peter, Ned began the story. “We were about eight or nine at the time. I was staying with Peter for a few days while my parents attended a destination wedding. It was a very hot and humid day, like today. We went to the park for a science-based scavenger hunt the local community center hosted. 

“Ben was with us to make sure nothing happened, including Peter having an asthma attack. Days like today were the absolute worst for him; Peter and I practically begged Ben to go to the event. Eventually we convinced him to take us. 

“Ben did lay out some ground rules for us. That included wearing sunscreen and hats, having to find him every 15 minutes to make sure that we drank water, and bringing Peter over at the first sign that his asthma was acting up.”

Tony cut in. “Let me guess, Peter convinced you not to tell his uncle about his asthma, causing an attack before he could get to his inhaler.”

“Not at all, Mr. Stark.” Peter stated acerbly, popping out of his blankets to face Tony. “Having your throat close up, making you believe that your body is going to choke you to death, is zero fun.” He sunk back into his blanket cocoon as if he had not spoken at all.

Tony looked taken aback. Peter hardly ever spoke that sharply towards him. “I’m sorry for assuming.”

“Seriously, Mr. Stark sir, that was not cool.” Ned gave him a side eye. “So, we show up to the scavenger hunt, and we find out that the first three teams to complete the list get to pick out one of three science kits: a robot kit, a forensic kit, or a chemistry kit. As soon as we see the robot-building kit, we agree that we have to finish fast so we could get it.

“We complete the scavenger hunt around the park. It mostly involved answering science trivia, collecting samples from around the park, such as a maple leaf or an acorn, and going to the different tables that were set up and completing mini science experiments.”

Peter expanded on what Ned said. “It was very fun and definitely well-planned. We did a chromatography of different black markers, the classic baking soda-vinegar volcano, and built a potato circuit. It was a dream come true for two science-obsessed children.”

Ned shifted his pillow before picking up where he left off. “It only took us about an hour to complete the scavenger hunt. We made sure to check in with Ben every 15 minutes, and Peter was fine. We came in first place, but had to wait for the other groups to finish before we could collect our prize. Once everyone completed the hunt, the organizers announced the top three teams and asked us to step forward while everyone else received popsicles. 

“Since we came in first place, we picked first, and of course we picked the robot. After handing it off to Ben, we jumped in the ice pop line. Then, we went back to the apartment.”

Peter took over. “Almost as soon as we arrived inside the apartment, Ben noticed that I needed my inhaler because I was wheezing. I took it and I was good to go. We wanted to start building the robot right away, but Ben insisted we eat lunch first. The second we finished lunch, we rushed into my room so we could start building the robot. Ben let us be until May came home from work.

“She sat us on the couch and we told her all about the scavenger hunt and how we were building the robot we won in my room. We then had dinner before Ben left for work. That’s when things started to go downhill.”

Ned took over the retelling. “About half an hour after Ben left for work, the air conditioning stopped working. It was evening, and although it was cooler than earlier in the day the mugginess didn’t go away. May opened the windows to get some fresh air in. She also found every fan they owned and turned them on to keep the air circulating. Most of them were in the living room, so May told us to bring Peter’s tub of Legos in there to play with while we watched a movie.

“We watched one movie, then May made us change into our PJs because it was getting late. When we came back, May had another movie cued up for us. It was during that movie that things really started to go downhill. When we were a little bit into the movie, May paused it to listen to Peter’s breathing. She handed him the inhaler and told him to take it. Peter told her he was fine, but took it anyways.

“We resumed the movie, but May kept on sending Peter troubling glances every few minutes. Halfway into the movie, May paused it again. This time, even I heard Peter’s wheezing breaths. Once again, Peter insisted that he was fine, and May forced him to use his inhaler again. She waited five minutes to hear if it improved his breathing, but it didn’t.

“At this point, May called Ben and explained why we were going to the hospital. Meanwhile, Peter was trying to convince May that he was fine and could breathe.”

Peter sat up a little bit and turned towards Ned. “Yeah, because I could breathe. It did not sound like wheezing to me. My chest didn’t feel tight and by fingers and lips weren’t turning blue. I would’ve been fine.”

Tony knew he should not say anything, but does anyways. “Or you could’ve slowly suffocated to death in your sleep.” Peter scowled at him while Ned nodded in agreement.

Ned sighed. “Moving on, May herded us into the car and we go to the nearest hospital. After May filled out all of the forms, Peter was called back pretty quickly since he was having issues breathing properly even if he couldn’t tell. I don’t know what happened next; I sat outside his room until he was given the medicine.”

“What happened was the doctor listened to me breathe with his stethoscope and determined that I was, in fact, having an asthma attack. They put me on a heart monitor and gave me a nebulizer to deliver the medicine. I don’t really remember anything after that.” Peter shrugged.

“Well, I do. Once they set you up, May brought me into the room to keep you company. You kept trying to talk to me instead of letting the nebulizer do its job. I ended up telling stories to keep you quiet. You eventually got bored of my stories and kept asking May if we could go back to the apartment.

“We knew you were okay and medicine worked when you started playing the nebulizer like a flute.”

“What?!” Peter squacked, bolting upright. “I don’t think I did that. I would remember if I did something like that.” 

Tony, meanwhile, was cackling like a witch on Halloween. “I can definitely picture that.”

“You called it a flute, although it’s shaped more like a clarinet. You kept humming into it and playing fake notes. Apparently they didn’t have the correct dosage for you, so they gave you a higher one. On the upside, you could breathe again. On the downside, it made you pretty high. Maybe that’s why you don’t remember much of the hospital,” Ned contemplates. “You were pretty hilarious. I can’t believe we never talked about it until now. Story over.”

Since his outburst, Peter returned to his previous state on the couch: becoming one with the cushions. Tony poked his foot. “You okay, Peter?”

“Yeah, the story is kind of embarrassing. And, I know that this is years late,” he popped his head out of his blanket burrow and faces Ned, “but I’m sorry you had to deal with all that. I know you didn’t want to go to the hospital.”

“Dude, it’s completely okay. It wasn’t your fault, your conscious fault, that your body decided to rebel against you. Besides, I’ve gone through a lot more than that as your Man in the Chair. Plus, you’ve seen me get injured too. Remember when I busted my chin open on the school playground?”

Peter sat up on the couch. “I sure do. I took you to the nurse’s office and refused to leave until your mom picked you up. A little higher and you could’ve lost a tooth.” 

“Man, think of the pirate team we could’ve made if we had worst injuries. You with an eye patch and me with a missing front tooth.” They both laughed while having a silent conversion that Tony could not follow at all.

“Mr. Stark, are you okay? You’ve been staring at the wall ever since Ned finished the story.”

That shook Tony out of his train of thought. “I’m great, Underoos. I do have a question that’s been nagging me for quite a bit of the story. At the beginning, you stated that you took asthma attacks very seriously. Why then, did you insist multiple times that you weren’t having an attack?”

“Because I honestly believed that I wasn’t having one.” Peter exhaled deeply and ran his fingers through his hair. “Look, Mr. Stark, I had asthma attacks both before and after the one the Ned described. A few of them were worse than that one. Seeing as I could breathe without what I considered a lot of effort, I felt that May was overreacting.”

“You were wheezing, meaning you weren’t breathing properly.”

“Not to sound uncaring or rude, but I’ve experienced panic attacks worse then that asthma attack. The first time I had a panic attack after the bite, I thought that it was an asthma attack. That idea terrified me because I didn’t have any symptoms of asthma after the bite until that point and I didn’t have an inhaler on me. Once I started doing breathing exercises, however, I realized that it was a panic attack instead of an asthma attack.” 

Tony opened his mouth and Peter, already knowing what he was going to ask, cut him off. “And no, it wasn’t Spiderman related. I really don’t want to talk about it.”

Ned, aware of what Peter was alluding to, changed the subject before Tony could push. “I think it’s time for me to pick a movie.”

Peter sent him a grateful look. “Great idea, Ned. Mr. Stark will show you how to use the TV while I go grab us drinks and snacks.” 

He made a quick exit, smiling as Tony tried to convince Ned to pick one of his favorite movies instead of the one Peter already knew he would choose.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> When I was younger, I had really bad asthma. One hot and humid evening, my mom decided to open the windows and front door once the sun started setting to save on AC costs. She, my brother, and I settled down to watch some reality TV, but halfway through the episode, she insisted that I take my inhaler because I was wheezing. )I didn't think I was). I took it and my brother insisted that I was still wheezing, and I denied it again. My mom called the paramedics since she believed I was having an asthma attack, and they confirmed her suspicions. I was taken by ambulance to the nearest hospital, and on the way, they started me on a nebulizer, but they only had adult dosages.
> 
> Apparently, you can't get high off of albuterol, but I vividly remember being super hyper in the hospital once the medicine started to work. I kept on trying to leave, laughed uncontrollably, and played the nebulizer like a flute (aka clarinet).


End file.
